One of the Big Three of U.A.

Yang Xiao had been startled earlier, which was why he had blurted it out. After all, it was too much of a coincidence for Mirio Togata, one of the Big Three of U.A., to appear here.

"Heh..." Yang Xiao said nothing, merely giving an awkward smile.

Seeing that Yang Xiao was unwilling to talk about it, Mirio Togata did not press further. Subduing the criminal was the priority now. He looked at Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko. "You two should leave now. Leave this place to me."

Without hesitation, Yang Xiao got to his feet and left with Toga Himiko in the opposite direction. The criminal did not notice them along the way.

Once Mirio Togata saw that there were no civilians left, he stepped out from behind the stone pillar. After sizing up the criminal on the second floor of the waiting hall, he leaped into the air and charged over.

"What the..." Yamato Isami suddenly saw a figure rushing toward the criminal and was startled as well. Once he came to his senses, he recognized the newcomer—Mirio Togata, one of U.A. High School's Big Three.

Even as a Pro Hero, Yamato Isami could not compare to Mirio Togata. Mirio had performed exceptionally well at the previous Sports Festivals. The Big Three had practically dominated the rankings, while Pro Heroes like them had risen through regular channels and were, in some respects, inferior to those students.

Of course, it depended on the person and their Quirk. A powerful Quirk could be brought to its fullest potential in the hands of a genius. Yamato Isami knew Mirio Togata was not a genius, but he worked even harder than one, which was why he had achieved what he had today.

Yamato Isami saw Mirio Togata, and so did the other Police Department officers. Before they could stop him, Mirio Togata had already reached Muratake.

Muratake had been reveling wildly when the sudden arrival startled him. Without a second thought, he swept his right-hand machine gun at Mirio Togata.

Yet all that remained before him were clothes and pants. Every bullet missed. Just as he was wondering what had happened, his neck suddenly tightened, and his vision went black. After that, he knew nothing.

After putting his clothes back on, Mirio Togata waved at the Police Department officers downstairs. "I knocked the criminal out. Come up and take him away."

After saying that, he turned to the hostages. "None of you are hurt, right?"

The hostages were all dumbfounded. In the blink of an eye, the vicious criminal had been knocked out. Who was this guy? How was he so strong?

The Police Department officers immediately rushed upstairs and restrained Muratake. The lead officer walked up to Mirio Togata, looked him over, and then asked, "Are you a Pro Hero, or...?"

"Provisional Hero License?"

Mirio Togata immediately took out his identification. The lead officer was taken aback. It was normal that he did not recognize Mirio Togata; police officers and Pro Heroes handled different kinds of cases. Seeing Mirio Togata produce a Provisional Hero License naturally surprised him.

After all, Provisional Hero Licenses were issued to students. It was rare for a student to defeat a criminal so easily—at least, he had never seen someone like that.

"Officer Ishi, this is Mirio Togata from U.A. High School. He is licensed, so there is no need to investigate him." Yamato Isami hurried over as well and shook Mirio Togata's hand in thanks.

He truly was grateful to Mirio Togata. If Mirio Togata had not come at that moment, neither he nor the Police Department officers would have been able to break through the defense line. The opponent was positioned high up and could see every movement below at a glance.

"Finally, we're out..." Yang Xiao said, pretending to be shaken.

"If I hadn't called you, you probably wouldn't have come out on your own, would you?" Toga Himiko looked at Yang Xiao with a half-smile. She felt that this boy was not as timid as she had thought.

She had assumed that when the riot broke out, Yang Xiao would run away immediately, maybe even wet himself from fright.

But that had not happened. Not only had Yang Xiao not fled at once, he had hidden in a corner and watched the criminal's movements. Could an ordinary middle school student do that?

Yang Xiao could see what Toga Himiko meant from her eyes, but what worried him most was not her suspicions. It was Mirio Togata.

There was no other reason. Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko had been together today, and someday in the future, Toga Himiko would appear on wanted posters issued by the Police Department and Pro Heroes as one of the League of Villains' criminals.

And Yang Xiao was now with a future criminal. The reason would be obvious without needing to guess. When that time came, it would not be Mirio Togata who found him first—U.A. High School and the Police Department would take him away immediately.

The only way to resolve this was to pull Toga Himiko back before she entered the darkness. From the very beginning, Yang Xiao had to crush those thoughts in her mind.

Only then could Toga Himiko truly be redeemed. She should just work honestly at Problem Solver.

Yang Xiao did not know whether this counted as changing the plot, but he could not worry about that now. If he could save one person, then he would save one person.

"We can't take the High-Speed Rail from this station anymore. Let's switch to another one." Yang Xiao did not explain what Toga Himiko had just said. He did not want to explain this kind of thing; the more you explained, the guiltier you looked.

Toga Himiko was about to say something else when Wu Shiyin called. "Little Yang, I heard there was a riot at a High-Speed Rail station in Kanagawa. Are you two all right?"

"What a coincidence. We were taking the train from the very High-Speed Rail station where the riot happened, but there wasn't any danger," Yang Xiao continued. "We're switching to another High-Speed Rail station now, so we might get back a little later."

"It doesn't matter if you're late. As long as you're okay." Wu Shiyin was finally relieved. After chatting with Yang Xiao for a few moments, he hung up.

Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko took a taxi to another High-Speed Rail station, then successfully returned to Problem Solver.

On the way, Toga Himiko kept thinking about what Yang Xiao had done at the High-Speed Rail station. After thinking it over for a long time, she reached several conclusions: Yang Xiao's calmness was probably an act, while inside he had nearly wet himself. He only stopped being afraid after the Pro Hero appeared; otherwise, he would not even have dared to leave the High-Speed Rail station.

That had to be it. Toga Himiko felt that Yang Xiao was exactly that kind of person—his outward act was flawless, but inwardly he was panicking like crazy.

Yang Xiao had no idea that Toga Himiko imagined him this way. If he knew, he would have been pleased. The weaker she thought he was, the more ordinary and safe he would be.

In truth, it would not be difficult for Yang Xiao to defeat Duwo now, but there was no need. More importantly, he wanted to pull Toga Himiko out of the darkness. At the very least, he hoped they would not end up on opposing sides in the future.

Otherwise, if Yang Xiao failed to reform her and Toga Himiko joined the League of Villains, he would have no peaceful days once he was exposed.

After all, getting into U.A. High School was Yang Xiao's next goal, and his future life would be inseparable from U.A. High School.